'Relief' as cuts to young carers' funding scrapped

The decision to scrap plans to cut youth club funding to support young carers feels like a "massive weight has been lifted", says a young carer's mum.

The proposal would have seen funding cut for 10 youth clubs from April to save £185,000, as part of ongoing efforts to prevent Somerset Council going bankrupt.

But at a meeting on Wednesday, the decision to cease both the Young Carers in Schools (YCIS) programme and the Young Carers Clubs scheme was thrown out.

Melanie, whose 13-year-old daughter Daisy has gained confidence from attending the youth club, said the news was a "massive sense of relief".

"When I heard last night, it was like a massive weight lifted. It's almost like there's been a black cloud over the last few weeks," she said.

Councillor Heather Shearer, lead member for children, families and education, apologised for the stress caused to families and said she felt "appalled" families had had to witness the public debate.

Shearer explained the motion for the cuts had been a "first look" at some of the proposed savings for the next financial year and aimed to reassure families, saying: "This particular stream of potential savings has been taken off the table quite definitively."

Daisy helps to care for her mum, who was diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis just after she gave birth.

Melanie said she can be fine one day and then be in "excruciating pain" the next.

"Daisy will have to help me wash and dress", she said.

Melanie said when she was really poorly, she noticed Daisy struggled with anxiety and became "very withdrawn" and "very quiet".

However, she said the youth club "completely changed her", allowing her to have some respite when her mum was poorly.

Daisy said: "I got to meet other young carers and I got to talk to them about it. We played games, we got to go on trips together, it was very fun.

"I think that's good [that the cuts have been scrapped]. The funding shouldn't be cut because it can keep helping more people."

The authority says just over 700 young carers have been identified in the county, but it is estimated, through national census figures, that there could be up to 1,750.

The council currently spends £148,900 on part-funding 10 young carers' clubs in the county.

It also spends £36,000 on the Young Carers in Schools (YCIS) programme, which is part of a nationally accredited award scheme set up by the Carers Trust and the Children's Society.

It helps schools identify young carers and put support in place so they can achieve their full potential at school.

Meanwhile, the youth club sessions, enable young carers to have some respite from responsibility while spending time with their peers, taking part in activities and accessing support.

Teacher Lisa Hunt, young carer lead at Northgate Primary School in Bridgwater, said the sessions helped children feel less "isolated".

Hunt added the YCIS programme offered many benefits, such as teacher training.

"It's given me support, there's always somebody at the end of the phone, it's given me more knowledge, more understanding," she added.

Andy McGowan, from the Carers Trust, acknowledged the stark financial pressure the council was under, but said severing support for young carers was not the answer.

"We know that if you don't identify and support young carers, it costs not just the young person, but it also costs in terms of society as well," he said.

Shearer added there were "no easy savings to take now" at the council, and "everything" had "to get looked at equally".

"I think it's also really important that we do debate these things openly and publicly. We don't want to make decisions behind closed doors," he said.

"We got a lot of organisations and parents coming to us to say 'This is not a good idea', and for all kinds of really sensible reasons.

"We listened to that and made decisions accordingly."

Shearer said she was "pleased" at the outcome, but added there were other potential cuts the local authority needed "to think about, but we will try to do it as humanely as possible and allow people to really speak to us".

Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.